South African opposition Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has donated laptops to schools to enhance e-learning in the country.
Commenting on the development, veteran Zimbabwean investigative journalist Hopewell Chin’ono wrote:
Most African opposition leaders don’t realise or understand that you must demonstrate your ability to govern before you even get into power.
You can’t be a politician who always and only asks for votes but never does anything materially for those people expected to vote for you.
This requires capacity to think beyond wanting votes, and be creative, you can easily assist the poor by sourcing from the rich, this demonstrates your ability to lead, connect and to persuade because that is what you will be doing when you win power.
Several liberation movements across the world not only fought for independence or freedom for their people, but also materially supported the people they sought to liberate, even before coming to power.
I will share a few examples of these outfits starting with Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe African National Union – ZANU (later ZANUPF) operated guerrilla camps where they provided education and health services to villagers in liberated zones.
They also organised agricultural cooperatives to ensure food security for communities under their political influence.
The African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa collaborated with local communities to supply food and basic medical services in areas where apartheid restrictions had devastated the communities.
The Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) established schools, healthcare clinics, and cooperatives in liberated zones before it came to power.
They prioritised education and healthcare to push development in rural areas under their control.
South West Africa People’s Organisation (SWAPO) of Namibia provided education and medical assistance to communities displaced by the liberation war.
Cuban Revolutionary Movement (26th of July Movement) led by Fidel Castro and his colleagues provided medical and educational support in rural areas.
They ran schools and clinics for poor Cubans, earning significant local backing before the 1959 revolution that took them into power.
This is very possible in today’s Zimbabwe where an organised opposition can easily use its massive goodwill to support those needing medical help or assistance with university tuition which can easily be fundraised through the goodwill the opposition holds in any country for bright kids.
It is unbelievable that we can have ten or twenty smart kids with extraordinary grades and yet no single politician makes it their business to help them.
The opposition could make inroads in rural areas quietly donating books which are very scarce, they can organise Zimbabweans in the UK to mobilise for medical consumables which are badly needed in poor areas.
They can fly to America and hold a meeting with computer companies there and get refurbished laptops which they can donate to schools and communities where poor university students can’t afford them.
There is just too much stuff that can be done by the opposition, but it requires competent leadership that knows how the world works in order to assist our people.
When your vision is limited to wanting power only without demonstrating what you will do with it, you won’t understand why the likes of EFF do what they do building homes, schools and clinics.
Our problem is that we always look for a reason why something can’t be done instead of how it can be done, many of our people are now in victimhood mentality mode which limits your ability to think and fight back against the hurdles in your way.
As an opposition movement challenging Kenneth Kaunda’s one-party state and his party, the United National Independence Party (UNIP), the opposition Movement for Multi-party Democracy (MMD) offered practical support by mobilising funds for civic activities, advocating for economic reforms, and working with unions to improve workers’ conditions.
In today’s Tanzania, Chama Cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (CHADEMA) provides material support for grassroots projects focused on education and community infrastructure, such as school renovations and water supply improvements.
Zwnews
